A. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to Bliss style containers and to the machines that are utilized for forming such containers. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatuses used for pre-forming and laminating reinforcing pillars or structural columns in the sides or ends of a pre-cut and scored corrugated blank that is utilized to form the Bliss style container. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to such apparatuses that improve the speed and efficiency of forming Bliss style containers.
B. Background
As well understood in the packaging industry, there is an ever increasing need for better containers to hold commodities, including items such as fresh fruits, vegetables, poultry, meat products and a wide variety of other products, which have various sizes, shapes and dimensions. As new products and packaging arrangements are developed, there is a need for new container designs and machinery to manufacture or form the particular design. In the packaging industry, as well as the present disclosure, the terms “container”, “case” and “box” are often used interchangeably. These terms each generally refer to a large, usually rectangular container made out of paperboard that is designed to hold a given number or mass of smaller units such as cartons, bottles, cans, chickens, meat or produce pieces.
The packaging industry has developed many different types and styles of fiberboard containers over the years, each being optimally suited for one or more particular products or industries. Such containers are typically constructed of a corrugated material. These materials may be single face corrugated, single wall (double-faced) corrugated, double wall corrugated, triple wall corrugated or the like. Containers may also be made of other paperboard products including, without limitation, containerboard, boxboard, linerboard, and cardboard. To increase top to bottom compression strength of the containers, various types of reinforcing pillars or structural columns have been developed, typically by folding the container material to form corner posts or columns at various points along the side walls of the container.
Specialized box forming machines have been developed over the years to form the different style boxes. Typically, such machines are generally configured in a vertical or horizontal plane, each with their own unique features and benefits. Many attempts have been made to form structural columns in the side walls of Bliss containers, generally by attempting to plough shaped columns by compressing the corrugated board between a male and female form resembling the profile of the structural column. In most configurations, the structural column forming operation is carried out around a mandrel which contains the female profile. The male profile for the column is moved toward the female profile by means of a mechanical linkage or by some configuration of electric and/or pneumatic actuators, thus sandwiching the container material between the mating male and female forms, to provide a column resembling the profile of the forming tool. Generally, the structural columns are angular in shape. To complete formation and the securing of the form, the mandrel moves forward pushing against the inner side of the container body blank. The pre-glued body blank of the Bliss style box wraps around the mandrel and the glue laps that hold the sides in place are ploughed and compressed against the side or end panel thus capturing and maintaining the shape of the column. The above-described operation has also been performed independently of the mandrel as a separate sequence, where the Bliss body blank with the bonded side and formed column is fed into a module containing the mandrel which then completes the final box forming sequence.
The presently available box forming methods have disadvantages, including lack of output speed due to the time it takes to form the column, maintaining the true shape of the column (which is even more difficult when more than one column needs to be formed) and maintaining the shape of the profile while moving the container into the compression phase of the forming process, where the shape of the profile is finally captured. Maintaining the shape of the profile while moving the container is extremely difficult when forming column profiles in container walls that are less than six inches in height. What is needed therefore, is an apparatus for forming profiles in the side and/or end walls of a Bliss style container that overcomes the various disadvantages, as stated above, of presently available container forming machines. The preferred apparatus would allow the user to form containers at speeds in excess of twenty containers per minute while maintaining the true shape of the formed profiles throughout the container forming process. The preferred apparatus will be particularly adaptable to Bliss container forming machines that utilize a feed system that picks and places the side or end wall blanks from the hoppers.